


It Was the Best of Times?

by littlebluewhalen



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, Core Four, DJWifi, Endgame, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Lila Rossi sucks, Mutual Pining, No Plot, Oneshot, adrienette - Freeform, feelings are finally returned, i love the core four being good friends, marinettes friends arent the worst and take her side over Lila, mutual love, nathalie is a good person, please astruck give me good friendship interactions, she cares for adrien
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-17 05:44:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21049280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlebluewhalen/pseuds/littlebluewhalen
Summary: A school fieldtrip to Versailles shouldn't be this complicated, should it?





	It Was the Best of Times?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mari_suarez](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mari_suarez/gifts).

> My good friend gave me the prompt for this, so this is dedicated to her! Perhaps not some of my best work, but regardless, it's a fluff fic with a moderately happy ending.  
Also, I'm from the US of A, so if anything about France or Europe in general is wrong, please forgive me. I have approximately one brain cell and it's dedicated to fanfiction.

“Alright, class!” Madame Bustier exclaimed, excitedly clapping her hands together to garner the attention of the teens in front of her, “Exciting news! We just got approved to take a day trip to Versailles! This means that we’ll be leaving in the morning once school starts and coming back at the end of the school day. While there, we’ll be touring the Palace, the Stables and the Garden! Pay attention, though; while there we will be learning the history of Versailles, and you will be quizzed once we get back to school. I have the permission slips here, I just need them signed and back to me by Friday! The trip will occur on Tuesday of next week. Do we have any questions?” The classmates all looked at each other. A slender arm clad in yellow shot into the air.

“Madame, do we have to go? Some of us have already been to Versailles.” Chloe responded snootily, rolling her eyes and wrinkling her nose in distaste. Madame simply smiled her way.

“Well Chloe, if you’ve already been, I suppose you’ll be able to pass the quiz right now, then?” At this, Chloe faltered slightly and huffed, but said nothing else.

“Well, if that’s all, then I’ll pass these out now. Remember, they’re due Friday!” Madame Bustier said in a sing-song voice, before walking around to hand each student a permission slip. 

“Mannn, this is cool! Bro, do you think your dad would let you go?” Nino turned to his best friend immediately upon receiving their permission slips. Adrien hummed in thought for a moment.

“He actually might, since it’s for school and educational. Plus, I can give him about a week notice, so we should be able to shuffle around my schedule… anyway, I hope so!” Adrien responded, smiling at his friend, who grinned in turn at him. 

“He better! Ain’t no going without my main guy!” Nino responded, clapping him on the back, to which Adrien lightly laughed.

“And if he says no for whatever reason, you let me know.” Alya added in, leaning forward in her spot slightly, a smirk on her face. Both guys turned around slightly to the girls behind them. Marinette rolled her eyes good-naturedly. 

“And what will you do, Alya?” Marinette asked. 

“Oh, you’ll have to find out. Hopefully you won’t have to.” At that, the four friends chuckled, and Adrien shook his head at his friend.   
Marinette smiled at him, becoming lost as she stared at his features. She watched as his blonde hair bounced with the motions of his body, as his meadow-green eyes closed in laughter, as his eyelashes dusted upon his cheeks, as his perfect, white teeth showed themselves once again and he-

“Marinette!” Alya called her name while nudging her with her elbow. Marinette shook her head violently to dispel her thoughts, her eyes wide in surprise as she turned to her friend, blinking. 

“Y-yes?” She asked, clearing her throat lightly. Alya simply chuckled at her friend and shook her head, leaning back into conversation with the guys, who seemingly took no notice of Marinette’s trance.

“Well really, I hope you can go. Versailles is beautiful!” Alya said, directing herself towards Adrien. Nino perked up at this. 

“Oh? You’ve been?”

“Yeah, I went with my family about two years back. I’m sure it’s even more fun without your kid siblings running amok, too.” The girl responded, grinning.

“For sure. It’ll be even more fun because I’ll be there this time.” Nino said smoothly, winking at his girlfriend. She scoffed at his antics and smirked at him. Adrien and Marinette locked eyes and shook their heads as their friends continued to flirt, until Adrien turned his body fully to look at Marinette. 

“I really hope I can go,” he murmured, “I think it’d be really fun to see Versailles with you guys. It really is beautiful, like Alya said.”

“Oh! You’ve also been? Well, I guess surprising not. I mean! I guess that’s not surprising. You know, because your dad is Gabriel and you model and travel and I mean, why wouldn’t you go! It’s a great photoshoot place and it’s just really-“ Marinette knew that she was rambling and she knew that she should cut herself off, but before she could even cringe at the train wreck that was her inner monologue, Adrien cut in with a smooth,

“Yeah, I went with my dad, but it wasn’t really for modeling. We went with… my mother. She really wanted to see it together.” Adrien replied, and though she knew he was trying to hide it, she heard the note of sadness in his voice. Marinette gathered all her thoughts and forced herself to calm down. If she ever wanted to get close to Adrien, she had to be his friend; she couldn’t let her feelings get in the way of that.

“Oh, that does sound lovely, Adrien. It must be a good memory to have. I hope your dad lets you come too. I don’t think it’d feel right if you weren’t there.” She said genuinely, smiling delicately at him. At this, Adrien’s face split into a giant grin.

“Yeah, me too. Thanks, Mari.” He responded, and before she could say anything else, Madame had called for everyone’s attention back towards the front of the classroom. 

/

Adrien had just gotten back to his house after fencing practice and had just put his things down in his room when Nathalie came up to discuss his schedule. 

“Tomorrow, you will go to school as usual, however instead of your fencing practice, we’ve scheduled a photoshoot in the good hours of the day. The photoshoot should only last two hours, and after that you’ll be brought back here to attend your Chinese lessons. You’ll have to see your tutor after your Chinese lessons, just to ensure you’re keeping up with your schoolwork. The rest of the night will be yours after dinner. We have nothing planned for you as of right now, so the time until dinner will be yours. I highly suggest you study some academic material.” Nathalie recited to him in monotone. She stood there stoically, her cue for him to ask any questions he had. 

“Nathalie, will Father be attending dinner tonight? I have a question about school to ask of him.” He responded, moving towards his backpack to produce the permission slip. Nathalie looked back down to her tablet and flicked a finger through it. 

“Not tonight, Adrien. What do you have to ask him?” She asked, raising an eyebrow behind her glasses. 

“Well, there’s a field trip happening in school next Tuesday… it’s entirely educational. We’re going to…. Versailles.” Adrien paused at this, his eyes flicking from Nathalie’s eyes down to the paper. Nathalie followed the motion and stared at the paper as well. 

She knew that that was the last place that he, Gabriel and Emelie had gone as a family, and she knew that’s why Adrien would want to go – as well as having a fun trip with his friends. Her heart broke for the boy in front of her daily.   
She straightened herself up and shifted the tablet in her arms, before reaching out to grab the permission slip from him. Adrien handed the paper to her, looking almost defeated.

“Well, I’ll see to it that he receives this and that he knows its for a purely educational experience. I’ll let you know what he says. He may not be around for dinner these next few nights; you know he’s busy with the upcoming show.” Nathalie responded, nodding down at him as he looked up. He let out a gentle smile and she took her leave. 

She’d be damned if he didn’t go to Versailles with his class.

/

The next few days dragged on painfully slow for Adrien and his friends. They had all turned in their signed permission slips the next day, and meanwhile, Adrien was still awaiting a response from his father. It was now Thursday, and the deadline was tomorrow. Madame Bustier, knowing how delicate his family situation was, dared not ask about the status of his permission slip.   
It was lunch now, and the group was sitting on the grass on the lawn of their school.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen, guys.” Adrien said suddenly, disrupting the peaceful, sunny silence that had enveloped them. 

“Don’t say that yet, man. You’ve got until tomorrow.” Nino responded, frowning at his friend. 

“Yeah, and Madame likes you. If you asked her to extend the due date until Monday, she’d probably accept.” Alya added, swallowing her bite of sandwich. Adrien just shrugged.

“I’ve come not to expect good things.” Adrien said absent-mindedly, scrolling through his phone, looking at his upcoming schedule. Tuesday was all booked up. He sighed, and his three friends all shared a pitying look with each other. None of them really knew what to say.

“Well then, I bet you definitely didn’t expect this.” Marinette said sweetly, producing a bag of his favorite chocolate chip croissants from her bag. He grinned at her, and reached in to take one, to which she pushed the bag towards him. “They’re all for you.” She explained. Adrien’s eyes grew wider and a light blush overtook his cheeks.

“Thanks, Mari. I didn’t expect this, you’re right.” He replied softly, gingerly taking the bag from her hands, his fingers brushing lightly against hers, causing her face to turn red. From the side, Alya and Nino looked at each other, mischievous grins on their faces. 

“Man, ‘Nette, where’s mine?” Nino asked, drawing their attention to him. Marinette turned towards him with narrowed eyes

“You’re coming back to my house after school today. Adrien can’t. You get no croissants during school.” She said playfully, flicking him softly on the nose, to which he reeled back, shouting in faux pain, making the four of them crack up. 

Yeah, Adrien didn’t expect good things, but he’d always appreciate the unexpected.

/

Adrien walked back up to his room, wandering up after a particularly difficult fencing session. Kagami did not go easy on him, and his head had been filled entirely of Marinette and her wonderful pastries. He could feel small bruises forming on his body, and he could feel a slight ache in his joints from having to do so much dodging. When Kagami had demanded to know what was wrong with him, he had stuttered out a quick ‘croissants!’ with a blush on his face, though he wasn’t sure why.  
Adrien dropped his backpack rather roughly on the ground, trudging over to his couch and dropping down, face-first and groaning. 

“Hey! What’s the big idea kid, dropping me onto the floor like that?” Plagg shouted suddenly, sounded greatly offended, after having wriggled his way out of Adrien’s backpack. Adrien simply groaned in response, so Plagg zoomed up to his face and slapped him on the back of his head. Adrien moved up to look at Plagg and glared at the small black creature.

“Can’t you see I’m suffering?” He asked blandly, to which Plagg rolled his eyes and snorted. 

“Yeah, whatever. You owe me extra camembert for that stunt! And don’t do it again!” he chided, flying over to the desk where he knew the cheese was, in the bottom drawer. Adrien simply huffed. He put his face back into the couch and the guilt of possibly, unintentionally harming Plagg started to eat at his goody two-shoes heart. After a beat or two of silence, he ventured to say, 

“I’m sorry, Plagg.” Another pause resounded. 

“It’s okay, kid. Sorry about your luck.” Plagg responded, feeling genuine sympathy for his chosen. Adrien said nothing, but Plagg simply picked up his cheese and floated back over to Adrien, settling comfortingly by his neck, out of sight. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until a knock was heard. Adrien sighed and got up, Plagg easily fitting into his shirt pocket. Adrien made his way over to the door before opening it and being unsurprised to find Nathalie on the other end.

“Alright Adrien, it’s time to go over your schedule for tomorrow.” She started, noting how haggard he seemed. For his sake, she ran through his schedule quickly. He thanked her, and before he could shut the door, she said-

“Oh, and here, this is for you.” She opened the folder in her arms and produced a piece of paper; the same piece of paper Adrien had given her days ago. “Sorry it’s taken me some time to get it back to you. Enjoy your trip.” She responded, her monotone never wavering, despite seeing his joy as he took the permission slip back from her, his face breaking into a visage of sheer happiness at seeing the signature on the bottom line. 

“Nathalie, I… thank you so much!” He yelled, almost going to give her a hug purely out of the joy he felt, but refraining. Nathalie let a small ghost of a smile escape her, and simply nodded at him as she walked away from his room. He shut the door and whirled around, grinning like a madman, pulling his phone out of his pocket and texting his friends the good news right away.

“Well kid, looks like some of that ladyluck is finally rubbing off on you.” 

/

The weekend had come and gone, and Monday had gone by in a flash. Everyone was now excited for the field trip to Versailles, even if to just get out of school for a day. Before anyone knew, Tuesday was here and the kids were boarding a bus to take them to Versailles. All of the classmates excitedly chatted amongst themselves, talking about what they’d like to see and wondering what was so interesting about Versailles. 

“My favorite part was the gardens, they were just beautiful, and so big! I hope we can go on a tour through the gardens and not just see them.” Adrien said to his group of friends, to which Alya nodded.

“Yeah! I really love the palace, but the gardens are gorgeous.” She agreed, stepping onto the bus. Marinette was right behind her as they filed down the aisle. Alya was about to sit in a bus seat on the right, near the back, and before Marinette could sit beside her, she hip bumped the girl into the seat on the left, and grabbed Nino’s arm to forcefully pull him down next to her. She winked at Marinette as Nino let out a yelp and crashed into the seat next to his girlfriend.

“This is the perfect time to snuggle, babe!” She exclaimed, grabbing ahold of his arm and nuzzling her face into his shoulder. He looked at her in confusion, before seeing Adrien sit down next to Marinette, and it clicked. 

“You’re right, Al! Hey, do you want to listen to my new mixtape?” He asked, sending her a link, to which she agreed and promptly put in her headphones, blocking out the people around her. 

“Well then, I guess it’s just you and me, Marinette.” Adrien said kindly, shifting his backpack onto the floor by his feet. Marinette smiled nervously at him, not trusting herself to speak in such close proximity. The bus seats left no room to move; they were practically pushed up against each other, side by side, and Marinette was short-circuiting. 

“So what are you hoping to see at Versailles?” Adrien asked politely, trying to make any conversation to avoid the awkward air surrounding the two as the rest of the students piled onto the bus. He missed the looks everyone sent their way.

“Oh, w-well, I, umm…” Marinette trailed off, trying to wrack her brain for an answer that wasn’t just ‘your smile’, “I-I want to see it all, really. I think a fashion line based on Versailles would be cool.” She finally spat out, semi-proud of herself for being able to form a coherent sentence. Adrien smiled at her and grasped onto the topic of conversation as a lifeline. 

“Oh, really? What do you have in mind?”

“W-well, I was thinking… a ballroom dress based on the stone pattern of Versailles… like the clothing that old royalty would wear, but modernized kind of? I’d have to see the Palace before I could really describe it or sketch it out, but… or a floral based on the gardens… something like that, a-anyway.” She responded, totally in her element when describing new ideas for projects. Adrien smiled at her. He loved when she could let loose and just be herself around him; he didn’t know what stopped her from talking to him like this regularly, but he respected her. 

“That sounds really cool, Marinette. I’m sure you’ll be able to make it work! Have you done any early sketches?” He asked, entirely intrigued. She nodded stiffly and turned to reach into her bookbag that was beside her on the seat, pushing her back into his arm, causing her to immediately stiffen back up and whip back forward at the contact. Adrien raised an eyebrow slightly but said nothing upon seeing the sketchbook in her hands. He shrugged off that odd behavior and looked at her book. She opened it and flipped through the pages, colors and beautiful drawings skimming past his eyes, things he wishes he could see, if only for a moment. She then stopped at the page she was looking for, opening it and turning it a bit so he could see. She had sketched an elegant ballroom gown, with at tan stone pattern around the bottom of the dress and a white train and corset. The long sleeves appeared to be sheer. 

“Wow, Marinette, that looks awesome!” Max said, nosily looking over her shoulder. She let out a surprised screech and whirled around to face him, hugging her sketchbook to her chest. Once she realized who was talking, she let out a breath and glared at him playfully. 

“Max! You know I hate when people look over my shoulder!” She reprimanded lightly. He grinned and rubbed the back of his head. 

“Sorry, I was just impressed. Nath, look at this!” He nudged the boy sitting next to him on his left, next to the aisle. At his name, Nathaniel stood up and looked over Marinette’s shoulder as well, who opened her sketchbook back up to show him. 

“Wow Mare, that’s beautiful. I like the color blend you have at the bottom. Have you considered putting more of a terracotta color at the bottom, blending into the tan? You could build up the color like the real Palace.” Nathaniel suggested, smiling at her.  
Marinette grinned at him and jotted down the note on her sketchbook. 

“Thanks, Nath! I’ll definitely keep it in mind for when I see the real thing.” She responded.  
Adrien looked between the two and noticed the blush that the tomato-head was sporting. A feel of discontentment rose up within him, but he shook his head silently to try and quell those negative thoughts. 

“They’re both right, Marinette, it is a really cool design. And like I said, I’m sure you’ll make it work.” Adrien finally responded, giving her a thumbs up. 

“T-thanks, Adrien! I appreciate that. Thanks guys.” She responded to her friends, who sat back down. 

The pair lapsed into silence once again, but this time, it was companionable. Marinette had taken to sketching, and Adrien had taken to casually watching her, which he was surprised to note that she seemed not to mind. Sometimes she would look up and throw a smile his way, and this is how they stayed for half of the trip, occasionally joining in conversation with their classmates.   
With ten minutes left to go until they reached Versailles, Marinette had stashed her sketchbook once again and leant against the window, staring out across the land as it whirred past. Adrien skimmed through his phone, almost dropping it when the girl beside him suddenly spoke up,

“I’m surprised your dad never did a Versailles collection based on your trip.”  
Adrien didn’t know what to say to that. He hated talking about his family, really, but he didn’t mind as much with Marinette. 

“Well, I don’t know if he remembers it fondly. We took that trip like right before my mom… you know.” Adrien explained. Marinette nodded in understanding and looked down to her hands.

“Yeah, that’s… understandable. Sorry I said anything.” She replied, her eyes flicking to his for a moment. He shrugged nonchalantly. 

“It is what it is. I am really excited for your line, though.” 

“I… I was th-thinking of making… a suit. To… to go with the gown, you know. Like… Formal wear. But each item would have a matching opposite.”

Adrien smiled. “Matching opposites? I like that idea.”

“Yeah, me too.” They shared a smile, and soon, their bus had stopped at their destination. 

“Alright, students! Before we get off the bus, I have some announcements. Firstly- we’re using the buddy system! Whoever you’re sitting next to now is who you’ll be with for the duration of the trip. You all can group up however you’d like, but always stick to your buddy in that group! Secondly: we will be touring in smaller groups. We will be splitting into three groups of five, that way everyone can focus on the education and not just horsing around with the entire class,” At this, Madame Bustier cast a look over to Kim, who had the audacity to look offended, “So pick a group of five and let me know who you’re with. Each group will follow a docent to learn about each section we’ll be visiting: The Palace, The Gardens and The Stables. That’s about it – each docent has an itinerary of the day. Follow them, stick with your buddy, and stay smart! Now, off the bus!”

The high schoolers filed off of the bus, chatting about everything. Once off, Marinette, Alya, Nino and Adrien all met up, already creating their group. 

“I guess we need one more.” Adrien mused, looking around at the class. 

“Yeah, but I mean who doesn’t have-” Alya was suddenly cut off by a shrill voice,

“Adrikinsss! You have to be in my group!” Chloe announced, marching up to the group, ignoring the others completely. Alya rolled her eyes, and the three of them shared a look. 

“Oh, uh, sorry, Chloe- I’m actually Marinette’s buddy, so, we have to stick together, you know?” Adrien responded, reaching out for Marinette’s arm and pulling her close, ignoring her yelp and blush.   
Chloe wrinkled her nose as she looked at Marinette. 

“I’m sure she could find someone else, Adrien. Anyone who’d want to put up with her, anyway.” Chloe said rudely, to which Alya bristled, and Adrien frowned. 

“Chloe, that’s rude. And no, I’m following Madame Bustier’s orders, and I don’t mind ‘putting up with her’, as you put it,” He replied, using air quotes, “You can join our group, but I’m not leaving this one.” Adrien responded with a tone of finality, leveling Chloe with a no-nonsense look. Said girl let out an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. 

“Fine, but-“

“Actually, Chloe, I think I’ll be joining this group. I’m the only one that didn’t have a seat buddy, so I’ve got nowhere to go.” Lila stepped into the conversation, cutting Chloe off with a smooth smile. Chloe practically growled at her.

“Well then, Rossi, you can go join my group! How absolutely perfect! Madame Bustier, we have our group!” Chloe called out, whirling around to Lila with a glare. “You mess up anything that I have going on, and I will end you.” She seethed. Lila simply raised an eyebrow and smirked. Madame Bustier walked over and looked at the group. 

“Chloe, you know there’s no groups of six.”

“Right! That’s why she was calling you over for me; my throat kind of hurts right now, I hope I’m not getting sick! But, as I didn’t have a seat buddy on the bus, I figured I’d join this group, and Chloe is going to go back to her group.” Lila said, making her voice scratchy on purpose. Chloe was fuming, but said nothing else and stomped off, back towards Sabrina. Madame Bustier blinked after the girl.

“Well, that was nice of her. Anyway kids, you’re going to start at the Stables, then tour the Palace, then lastly the Gardens! You’ll be with Claudius today.” Madame explained, oblivious to the looks on the group’s faces, walking them over to their guide. They all exchanged greetings and contact information, and the teacher left.

“Well, this sure should be fun!” Lila replied, sidling right up next to Adrien and Nino. Marinette rolled her eyes, glaring at the girl’s back. Alya put a soothing hand on her best friend’s back.   
“Yeah, Versailles is really cool.” Adrien responded dully, trying to show that he wasn’t interested, but not trying to come off as extremely rude, either. 

“Oh I know, I’ve been here plenty of times before. That’s what happens when you have the connections.” She replied, winking at him and placing a flirtatious hand on his arm. Adrien laughed uncomfortably and rubbed the back of his head while Nino did a gagging motion to the girls behind him, making them giggle. 

“Oh? What’s the joke? I love to laugh!” Lila replied, turning around to give a megawatt smile towards Marinette and Alya.

“Oh, nothing that concerns you, don’t worry!” Marinette replied, just as chipper. Lila’s face fell flat for half a second before forming into a mask of complete happiness.

“Well, that’s too bad. Next time share with the class, yeah?” She asked, looking directly at Marinette, her hand never leaving Adrien’s arm. Marinette narrowed her eyes and stared back, before Lila turned back around. 

“Alright guys, we’re coming up on the stables shortly. There’s a Grand Stable and the Small stable, so…” Claudius explained the stables’ history, what they were used for, and why the stable grounds were so big. The group had fallen silent, none of them wanting to miss something that might make them fail. Alya produced her recorder to be able to listen back to this later and take notes. 

The group walked around the stables and met with show stable-masters, taking in the view of the grounds. Marinette was having a good time, Lila aside, and was able to take her sketchbook out and sketch some very quick ideas down. She also took pictures with her cell phone to help her with inspiration once she was home.   
After about an hour and a half, they moved onto the Palace. 

“Now this is where the real fun begins. The Palace is incredible – It was actually created by…” Claudius started explaining the history of the Palace again, going into slight detail about the Treaty of Versailles and the royalty that lived there as they walked. Once they got there, Claudius took them on a guided tour of the palace that took about two hours. They were almost four hours into their trip, and the only thing left was the Gardens, but first it was time for lunch.

“Alright gang, now we’re going to head back and meet up with the rest of your class to have lunch. Do any of you have to use the restroom before we had back?” Claudius asked kindly. Marinette nodded.

“Alright then, I’ll show you where it is.” Claudius responded, and as he went to guide Marinette away, who handed her small bag to Alya, Lila quickly got up and followed them as well. Alya almost got up, but Nino grabbed her arm, keeping her in place. Adrien looked at them, conflicted, but stayed with Nino and Alya.

“That girl is never up to anything good, I swear.” Alya mumbled, crossing her arms and putting all her weight on one foot, staring at the retreating figures. The two were led a bit of a ways away and to a room on the right. Claudius nodded at them and turned to go back to the group. Marinette leveled Lila with a look of distrust as they walked into the bathroom together. 

“What’s wrong little Nettie, don’t you twust me?” Lila asked, pouting. Marinette rolled her eyes and walked into a stall. “And here I just didn’t want you to go to a bathroom by yourself. Girls stick together you know?” Lila said, dropping the fake voice. Marinette didn’t respond. 

“It’s too bad that you’re on my bad side, Dupain-Cheng.” Lila said suddenly, her voice grating and aggressive. Marinette then walked out of the stall, finished, and began to wash her hands, ignoring the girl next to her. 

“It’s a good thing they have mints in here, because it looks like you’re going to miss lunch.” Lila spoke up, and as Marinette whipped around to look at her, Lila was already out of the bathroom. Marinette reached for the door handle and twisted and pulled, but it refused to budge. Marinette tried again and again, but it was no use. The door wouldn’t open; somehow, Lila had locked the door from the outside. Marinette groaned; she had given her bag, containing her phone, to Alya before she went to the bathroom, so she didn’t have to bring it in with her. But surely Alya would know something was up, right? They wouldn’t just leave her here based on Lila’s word, right? 

As a few minutes passed, Marinette was beginning to think that that’s exactly what happened. She let out a frustrated yell and sank onto the floor, her back to the door. She put her knees against her chest and put her head on her knees. 

“This sucks, Tikki.” Her kwami then floated out of the tiny purse at her side and landed on her head, patting it softly. “I can’t stand her! How can someone just… be like that?!” Marinette exclaimed in exasperation, pouting at her friend. Tikki gave her a sympathetic look.

“I know, she is rather awful, isn’t she? I’m sorry Marinette. Now think about how to get out of this situation. We need to-“

“Marinette?” A cautious voice called right outside of the door. Marinette stood up in an instant and Tikki went back into her purse.

“Yeah, it’s me! Why won’t the door open?” She called frantically.

“What do you mean? Doesn’t it lock from the inside?” A confused voice called back, and Marinette realized it was Adrien.

This was so. Embarrassing. 

“I, um- yes! It does! But I didn’t lock it, after Lila left it just wouldn’t budge! I think she did something to the outside.” Marinette explained. A beat of silence, and then,

“You’re right, the knob is jammed from this side! Um, hold on, let me see if I can… fix it…” Adrien replied, lapsing into silence once more. Then all of a sudden, Marinette heard a clunking noise, and the door swung open. Marinette stared in shock at the boy in front of her.

“How- what did you do?” She asked, mouth agape still. A blush rose onto his face.

“I just, uh, kind of kicked it in and it got unstuck? Anyway, we should get going – I had to slip away from Lila and the group in order to get back here.” Adrien replied, turning. Marinette nodded. 

“Do know you the lunch? I- I mean! I mean, do you know the way back to the lunch spot? I… don’t really know my way around.” Marinette admitted. Adrien nodded. 

“Yeah, just follow me!”

“Right… and um… thanks for coming back… to get me.” Marinette said quietly. Adrien smiled at her, then grabbed her hand lightly. 

“That’s what seat buddies are for! Stay with your partner, remember? Let’s try not to get separated again.” He said, starting to walk forward, while Marinette tried to ignore the thrumming in her heart.

/

Marinette learned very quickly that Adrien did not have a sense of direction.   
She unfortunately learned this through experience, as they both were lost in the Gardens within minutes. 

“Adrien…” Marinette trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

“Wait, I promise I know where we’re going.” Adrien replied, stopping after they got to another circle of bushes and a dead end. 

“…Maybe.” He finished his thought, sighing. Marinette smiled at him lightly, though she was stressed about their current predicament. 

“Hey, it’s alright. Let’s just go back to the palace. You have your phone, right? You can call Nino and tell him that we’re not sure how to get back to where the group is at.” Marinette reasoned, boldly reaching out to lay a comforting hand on his bicep, rubbing her thumb over his arm soothingly. He looked at her and smiled.

“Well, if there’s anyone I’d want to be lost with, I’m glad it’s you.” He replied. They stared at each other, lost in their own world for a moment, smiling softly in the moment. 

“We should… probably head back the way we came.” Adrien murmured. Marinette shook her head at his words, snapping back to the present and removing her hand from his arm and turning around immediately, a dark blush taking over her face. 

“I-I- um, yes! We go back should. I mean we should go back! I th-think it’s this way!” Marinette replied before jogging off, trying to distance herself from her feelings.

“Hey, Mari, wait! Let’s not get lost from each other now!” He exclaimed, jogging after her. 

/

“Well, looks like we’re both directionally challenged.” Adrien stated after another twenty minutes of going nowhere. Marinette groaned.

“I don’t understand, I thought we went back the way we came perfectly! I’m so- ugh!” Marinette yelled, throwing her hands up in frustration. 

“Do you think we’ll die here?” Adrien asked jokingly, trying to make light of the situation. 

“Probably, we’ve got no food or water, and we’re just walking around in circles. If we pace like this for the rest of our lives, we’ll have our graves dug by the time we die.” She replied, continuing to walk forward. Adrien snorted a laugh and followed after her, trying to listen to her as she mumbled to herself. After a few minutes of walking, Adrien spotted something in the distance: a white structure. 

“Marinette, look! Shelter!” he cried dramatically, grabbing her hand and dragging her towards it. 

“What is this?” Marinette asked once they were under the roof of the open structure, looking around. It was a circular structure, almost like a giant gazebo, with columns and a statue in the center.   
“”It’s ‘The Grand Trianon’,” Adrien replied, “Apparently it was built for Queen Marie-Antionette from Louis XVI, as a demonstration of their love, a place for their more… intimate… moments…” Adrien trailed off, a blush exploding over his face. The gears in Marinette’s head stopped turning, and she crashed. She didn’t say anything. Adrien cleared his throat.

“This info board says that we’re actually in the Estate of Trianon. There’s an entire sanctuary and another house built solely for… um… the… intimacy. And it looks like this estate has its own gardens too, except these gardens include nature paths that go through trees. We should stay away from those so we don’t get even more lost.” Adrien concluded, looking out towards the next building. Marinette simply nodded, her throat dry. They stayed quiet for another moment until Adrien’s phone went off. He fumbled to answer it, his mind clearly on something else. 

“Hello?”

“DUDE! Where are you?!” Nino shouted from the other end, and Adrien held the phone back from his ear and cringed. This caught Marinette’s attention, who came over near Adrien (but kept some distance between them). 

“I’m with Marinette, and we’re on the Estate of Trianon.” Adrien answered calmly, swapping a look with Marinette, who was biting her lip in nervousness, which Adrien tried really hard not to stare at.

“What in the world are you doing there?” Nino asked in disbelief. 

“Well, we were trying to come back to join the group, but… we got lost.” Adrien sighed in defeat. He heard voices talking over the phone but couldn’t make out what they were saying. 

“Alright, just chill there dude. Which part of the estate are you on?”

“The Grand Trianon.”

“Jesus, that’s like twenty minutes away from us, how did you even get there? Nevermind that, we’re coming to get you. Just hang tight, okay?” 

“Yeah, we will. Thanks, Nino.” Adrien replied, eternally grateful for his friend. Nino said goodbye and hung up.

“Well, better get comfortable, then.” Adrien replied, sitting on the floor with his back to the statue. He patted the cool marble next to him and Marinette sat beside him cautiously. Adrien took the backpack off of his back and set it down in front of them, opening it and pulling out a large bagged lunch.

“And just so you know, I have both food and water. Some of us are prepared,” he teased lightly, “Here, we can share for right now, since I have a feeling we won’t get a chance to eat lunch.” He explained, beginning to pull out his food.

“Oh no, I’m okay, Adrien! It’s your lunch, you eat it!” Marinette responded, her heart swooning at his innately kind behavior.

“No really, it’s okay. Please eat some.” He responded, smiling at her gently.

“But it’s yours, I don’t want to take away…” Marinette stopped at the look on his face, which looked unamused. 

“You’re telling me you wouldn’t do the same for me? I’m hurt, Mari.” Adrien said teasingly, handing her a container of spinach and kale salad. “I hope this is okay; it’s the healthy stuff my chef makes. Ya know, model stuff.” He replied, handing her a fork. She blushed intently.

“I- of course I would do the same!” she blurted out before stabbing the salad with the fork and shoveling some in her mouth. He raised his eyebrows at her and let out a laugh, and before they knew it, they were laughing at the absurdity of their own situation. 

“Oh man, oh no. We really got ourselves lost, didn’t we?” Marinette asked in between laughs. Adrien nodded and took a moment to observe her, grinning. He was really enjoying himself; he loved when she was herself around him, and this is the most herself he’s probably ever seen. He hoped that something, he didn’t know what, but something – would change between them today. Something that allowed her to laugh like this all the time with him. 

After the laughter died down, and she ate some more salad, she gave it back to him, and he ate the rest. She noticed how he didn’t pull another fork from his bag – why would he, it’s his lunch! – and focused on his lips eating off the same fork that she ate off of only moments prior. He then pulled out a Tupperware of the bag and opened it up to reveal grilled lemon pepper chicken on a bed of rice.

“Ladies first?” He handed the container and fork towards her, and she took it, blushing. She was trying to focus on something, anything, other than the fact that this was pretty much an indirect kiss.  
She took a bite, and her eyes widened. 

“Oh my god, this is amazing!” She exclaimed, before hastily taking another bite. She looked over to Adrien, who was looking at her with an expression of… Something on his face. If she let her imagination go wild, she would say it was… Fondness? Softness, maybe?

She moved her eyes away from his and stared out into the gardens once more. She took a few more bites then handed the food back to him, absently reaching to take her phone out of her pocket, then remembering it wasn’t there. She frowned, trying to commit the scene before her to memory.

“Do you want me to take a picture?” He asked, grabbing his cell phone out of his bag. She turned to him and smiled.

“Only if you wouldn’t mind. You could send them to me?” She squeaked, not even noticing how she wasn’t stumbling over her words. He grinned, then handed her the phone. 

“You can just take them; I think you know the composition you want for your sketches better than I do.”

“Sure, yeah.” Marinette then stood and snapped some pictures, even getting some of the Trianon from the outside, coming back and sitting closer to Adrien, her arm against his.

“They come out okay?” He asked, looking over her shoulder to see the pictures.   
They absolutely did. Adrien thinks that if she wasn’t a designer, she could have a viable career in photography. He didn’t even know his phone could take pictures like that. She took pictures of the structure they were in, close-ups of the marbling, of the stone and statue, far-away pictures of the estate and wonderful, colorful pictures of the gardens surrounding them.

“They’re amazing, Mari.” He said lowly, softly, his breath tickling her ear. She let out a light giggle, gently handing his phone back to him, ignoring the shock of their fingers brushing.

“Th-Thanks, Adrien. I wish I had my sketchbook so I could get some of these ideas down though.” She replied, leaning more against him without thinking. Adrien silently gulped at their proximity. 

“I, uh, don’t have a sketchbook or colored pencils, but I have pen and paper if you want to use that.” He replied, shifting slightly to remove the items from his backpack. She blinked at him in surprise.

“I’m going to have to repay you someday, Adrien.” She replied, taking the materials from him, and straightening back up against the statue.

“Just keep being you, Marinette, and that’ll be more than enough.”  
Adrien isn’t sure what made him say that, but the instant he sees the blush bloom across her face, he knows that he’s glad he did. He’s grown to like that blush over the day. It makes him feel good, knowing he’s had an effect on her. She stared at him, but instead of her usual deer-in-the-headlights stare, she was staring at him critically, like she was trying to figure him out. And god, did he want her to.

“Are you sure about that?” She murmured back to him, unknowingly inching closer, closing the space between them. He just hummed back in response, his eyes dropping to her lips, then snapping back up to her bright blue eyes. His eyes roved all over her face, drinking her in; he noted her cute black pigtails, the curve of her nose, how her eyelashes dusted her cheeks every time she blinked; the pools of blue he was getting lost in, the-  
The feel of her lips on his?  
When did that happen?  
As soon as it happened, it left, and he was met with the sight of a wholly mortified Marinette.

“Wh- What did- I- What did-” She was babbling about nothing, shrinking away and hiding herself in his paper and pencil. He didn’t know what to do or say, as his poor little boy brain was in shock. 

“I- did you kiss me?” He asked, staring at her in utter bewilderment. She then furrowed her brows.

“I- I thought you kissed me!” She squealed, covering her face with her hands. Adrien’s eyebrows rose, the food long forgotten, as he slowly scooted closer to her. 

“Hey, Marinette,” He called soothingly, “it’s okay, listen, just- please talk to me?” He almost begged, reaching out to remove her hands from her face. She squeaked and tried to hide away further, but Adrien wasn’t having any of it. 

“Listen, I’m sorry- if you didn’t want it to happen, I won’t do it again, I’m sorry. Can we just – please still be friends?” He pleaded, looking at her in fear, afraid she would run and he would never see her again, afraid he’d fucked it all up.  
She peered up at him, in what seemed to be confusion. 

“Did- did you want it to happen?” She asked quietly. Adrien thought for a moment, then sighed. 

“I mean, I’ve thought about it before… I really like you as a person, Marinette. And while I started this day off just wanting to have fun with my best friends, ever since we got separated and we were able to laugh and joke together, I just… wanted more, I guess. I’m sorry.” He said, backing out of her personal space now, looking dejected. Marinette grabbed his wrist lightly and kept him close. 

“Adrien, I…” She started, trailing off, losing her nerve. He looked at her again, looked into those eyes, and his eyes dropped to her lips again, wondering if he’d get another chance to kiss her right.   
“I like you. Like… I like you as… more than a friend.”  
That response was something he wasn’t expecting and hit him like a ton of bricks.

“I- you- what?” It was all he could say, because what?

“Well jeez, don’t act so surprised, it’s not like the entire class knew or anything.” Marinette murmured, hugging her knees to her chest. Adrien just gaped at her, which he knew was not helping the situation. She just looked at him hopelessly and he knew he had to say something else. 

“I- my feelings are… complicated. All of them, not just romantic feelings towards anyone. Do you… just… why?” Adrien asked. What he was trying to say was, ‘do you just like me for my model life or do you somehow see who I really am?’ but, of course, he couldn’t get that out. Marinette however, in her Marinette way of hers, seemed to understand just what he meant. Said girl shrugged while looking out over the gardens. 

“You’re just… so kind. And generous, and caring. You’re smart and I know your life is complicated, to say the least, but you still make the best out of it. I just… I just do, Adrien. I couldn’t care less about your model status.” 

Adrien’s own feelings slapped him in the face for the second time that day as her words washed over him in a freeing warmth, and compassion filled his being to the very core. He surged forward and hugged her around her shoulders, burying his face in her hair. The past two years of knowing her had been incredible – she had introduced him to so many great people, and despite her stuttering and her incoherency, she had always been there to listen or help him with whatever arose. He had taken his time to sift through and understand his feelings – he had known for a while that he might have a crush on Marinette. He had known for a while that he put Ladybug on a pedestal that was never fair to her or to him, and that a lot of his ‘love’ was idolization. But he had never known anything else, he had never known any other way, aside from his mother – but even that was extremely convoluted. His friends has really shown him that love just was; it was simply an emotion, a state of being that was neither deserved nor undeserved. It just… was.

“I don’t know how else to express how grateful I am to you. All the time.” He responded, whispering. The girl froze up, unsure of what was going on, or how to respond.  
“You’re the same way, you know? There’s a reason why so many guys have fallen for you.”   
Marinette couldn’t contain herself any longer, and tears leaked from her eyes, silently falling down her cheeks. She shakily drew in a breath and released it.

“Is- is this a rejection?” She asked, shuddering. Realizing that she was now crying, Adrien panicked and let go of her.

“No! No, no its not a rejection! I mean, I would like to kiss you again. But there’s a lot of things – I really can’t date because of my father and my busy schedule – but I mean I don’t not like you.” He concluded, hoping he conveyed himself well enough. He supposed he had, when her tears dried up and she sniffled a few times before regaining the strength in her voice. 

“So…” she trailed off, her head still on her knees, but turned to look at him. 

“So…” Adrien mimicked softly, gently pulling her head off of her knees. He stared at her for a minute before closing the gap once more. This time, he was conscious of what he was doing, and thus kissed her back to show her his feelings. He smiled into the kiss, because for the first time in a long time, every part of him was truly happy. 

“Woah!” A familiar voice shouted, causing the two to break apart fast. Before them stood Nino, his face contorted in absolute shock. Alya was behind him a bit, an evil grin on her face and her cell phone out, most likely haven taken a picture. 

“Woah! You should have just told me what was goin’ on man, I would have stalled!” Nino shouted, making both teenagers on the ground cringe. 

“Oh my god, I cannot believe this!” Alya screeched, bouncing up and down on the heel of her feet. 

“Oh my god, can we please just leave!” Marinette cried in embarrassment, scooping up everything off of the ground and standing up swiftly. 

The four began to walk back with Claudius, who stayed silent, until Nino and Alya dared Adrien and Marinette to a piggyback race – and how could one refuse, really?  
Alya hopped on Nino’s back and Marinette jumped on Adrien’s and they took off out of the gardens, laughing and smiling the entire way.

Yeah, nothing was really right, but nothing was really wrong, either.

For the two of them, everything was perfect, for right now.


End file.
